


Some Kind of Confession

by missbecky



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Avengers Prime, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, missing moment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-02
Updated: 2013-03-02
Packaged: 2017-12-04 02:36:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/705545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missbecky/pseuds/missbecky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A missing moment from Avengers Prime. Steve finally notices that Tony did not escape the ogres unscathed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Some Kind of Confession

**Author's Note:**

> Because honestly, I know I'm hard-wired to see these things, but did the writers just forget that Tony was tortured by Fafnir?

The light-hearted mood that had resulted from Thor's admission of his one-night stand with Hellcat did not last very long. Abruptly Thor muttered something under his breath and stood up. He strode away, his head down, his fists clenched. Within moments he was beyond the range of the fire, lost in the night.

Steve looked down. Already he could feel tensions rising again, although it was only him and Tony now sitting beside the fire.

Which was, he thought dourly, probably the source of the tension.

Tony picked up the Iron Man helmet, but he did not begin working on it again. He simply sat there, his hands still, staring at nothing. After a few seconds of this, he sighed and set the helmet aside.

"Don't," Steve said without even looking up.

"Don't what?" Tony asked.

"Leave him alone," he said. "He needs some time to think." He knew he would want that privacy if it were him out there, faced with the knowledge that he had inadvertently doomed all of the nine realms.

"I wasn't going to talk to Thor," Tony said. He started to stand up. He got about halfway, and he suddenly hissed in a sharp breath, his face screwing up with pain. It was there and gone very quickly – but Steve had noticed.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Are you hurt?" With a sudden pang of guilt, it struck him that he had not once asked that question. There hadn't exactly been a chance for it when they were fleeing from the ogres, and during their ride through the woods their mission to find Thor had dominated their conversation – but they were safe in this village now. He should have asked before this. He should have _thought_ to ask.

His first real mission with the Avengers since his return, and he was already failing at it.

"No, it's fine. I'm fine," Tony said, which was Tony-speak for _yes._

Steve got to his feet. Just minutes ago they had been smiling at each other. All day long Tony had been trying, trying too hard actually, striving relentlessly for an atmosphere of good cheer and light-hearted adventure. In a way Steve could appreciate that effort, because he knew he could never do the same. And it was good to take his mind off the seriousness of their situation every once in a while, just to remind him why he was fighting and who he was fighting for.

But there was a difference between making jokes and telling lies, and Steve was drawing the line right here.

"Is this how it's going to be?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest. "This is how we make our clean start? By lying to each other?"

Instantly Tony looked stricken. "Steve, no. That's not… I didn't…"

Unmoved, Steve just stared at him.

With a quiet sound, Tony surrendered. "All right. Yes. I mean, did you miss the part where they were big, giant ogres and I was naked?"

"I didn't miss that," Steve said. But clearly he had missed _something_ , and he was mentally kicking himself for it.

"Well, before you got there, there was a round of introductions. Me and Fafnir the dragon. Me and…a hot poker."

Every muscle in Steve's body went rigid.

"Don't…" Tony held up one hand in a placating gesture. "See? This is why I didn't say anything. Honestly, it's not a big deal. I'll be fine. I can do this, Steve. You don't have to worry about that."

His response only added to Steve's guilt. There would have been a time when he wouldn't even have needed to say his next words out loud; they would have been tacitly understood. But like so much of their history together, that time was in the past, perhaps never to be found again.

"I'm not worried about your ability to fight," he said. "I'm worried about _you."_

Tony blinked, and his obvious surprise that Steve would care was just one more stone on Steve's heart. Before Tony could say anything to brush him off still further, he made a gesture with one hand. "Let me see."

"It's really okay," Tony said.

"Mageth gave me some of her healing salve," Steve said. "You should use it now, while there's still time."

Tony glanced around uneasily, then he slowly sat down again. He made no sound this time, but his face tightened with pain once more.

Steve looked around as well, making sure that they were well and truly alone before sitting down beside him. He watched as Tony removed the armor, piece by piece, until he was bared from the waist up.

It was the first time since the surgery that Steve had been this close to the new device in Tony's chest. Disturbingly large, it sat square in the center of Tony's chest, its light a steady white glow touched with orange where the firelight reflected off it. Even though he had been there when it was activated, he still felt a thrill of amazement to look at it, to realize that such a small thing could be responsible for keeping Tony alive.

He glanced up, half-expecting to find Tony staring off into the distance in an effort to avoid his gaze. Instead he found Tony looking steadily at him, unembarrassed, unashamed, and completely unapologetic.

Which only reminded him of what he was supposed to be doing. He looked down again, and he finally saw the angry red brand on Tony's side. It would be fairly easy to hide with just the casual drape of an arm, and he realized now how he had been fooled into overlooking it before. But though it might be easy to hide, the burn was in a place where the armor must be rubbing against it, and that had to be very painful.

The small jar of salve from Mageth was only half-full, but it would be more than enough. Steve unscrewed the top and dipped two of his fingers inside. Carefully, trying to be gentle, he spread the salve on the burn.

Tony's breath caught and his stomach muscles jumped, but he did not pull away. Within seconds, though, he was relaxing, letting out a slow exhale. "Wow. That's some good stuff."

"Yeah," Steve said. He continued his ministrations, deliberately not looking at Tony's face. He told himself he was not going to ask about Extremis and why it wasn't healing the burn, or if there was even enough of it left for such a thing. If Tony wanted to tell him, he would. Their truce was too fragile right now for him to threaten it over something as mild as this.

"That's… Okay," Tony said. "I think you got it." His voice was unsteady, and Steve was shocked to discover that he was trembling.

Immediately he pulled his hand back, unable to prevent himself from thinking that somehow it was his fault. "Sorry. Did I hurt you?"

"No," Tony said quickly. He shook his head.

But there was no denying the little tremors that worked through him, nor could Steve pretend that he, too, was unaffected. Everything seemed strangely magnified: how close they were sitting, the heat of the fire, the feel of Tony's skin beneath his fingers. It had been a long time since they had sat like this – and for too long he had thought that the rift between them had grown too wide to ever be bridged, that he would never experience this again.

And it struck him that he almost _had_ lost this for good. He looked again at Tony, this time with a more critical eye, noting how thin and tired Tony looked, and the pallor that not even the warm glow of firelight could mask. Things he should have been seeing all along.

"How have you been doing since the surgery?" he asked.

"I'm not really sure." Tony didn't pull away, but there was a definite distance in his voice that hadn't been there before. "This is kind of my first day back."

Steve clenched his jaw. "In other words, you shouldn't be here."

"You needed me," Tony said simply, as though this explained everything. Which it did, unfortunately. "So here I am. And anyway, do you really think I would pass up an opportunity to take Osborn down?"

Steve didn't know what to say. He was appalled and angry – even though he knew he shouldn't be surprised. Of course Tony had come to his aid, leaving a hospital bed he had no business leaving yet. He would have come crawling on all fours if he had to, all because Steve had asked for his help.

Apparently some things never changed. It was just like Tony Stark to rush into a situation because he thought he knew best, because he believed it was the right thing to do, and never mind the consequences. It had probably not once occurred to him that in his weakened condition he was more likely to be a hindrance than a help.

"You could have said no," he said. "I would have understood."

Tony just gave him a peculiar smile, like it hurt him to do so. "Would _you_ have said no?"

At that, Steve had to smile a little, too. They both knew the answer to that question.

"I'm fine," Tony assured him. "I'll be fine. Just...being here…with you… I feel more like myself than I have since I woke up." He took a deep breath. "And I want you to know--"

But that was more than Steve could bear to hear. They _would_ have to talk about it, of course. That was unavoidable. It would probably degenerate into yet another argument, too, although this time he would try to remember that Tony barely understood what was going on and what had happened over the past few months. He would try, but he would no doubt fail, because nobody had the knack for getting under his skin and pissing him off quite the way Tony did.

He would do all that – but now was not the time. Not when the fate of nine realms hung in the balance. "Well, it's good to have you at my side again," he said. And then, because some kind of confession seemed called for since he had interrupted Tony's attempt at it, he added, "I missed this."

Something dark and desperate rose in Tony's eyes at that. "Steve…"

Steve's heart skipped a beat. They were still sitting so close, it would have been the simplest thing in the world to lean in just a little, to tilt his head just so…

And he heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching.

Steve did nothing to give away his irritation, but Tony sprang to his feet, already reaching for the armor. He moved easily this time, without any indication of pain. And even though he wished it could have lasted longer, for that, if nothing else, Steve was grateful for the private time they had just shared.

Thor walked up to them, then stopped. He looked very pensive as he frowned into the fire. "I have been thinking," he said. He looked at Tony, who was back in the armor. "You said dragons. You said before, you said you saw a _dragon?"_

Steve stood up. Thor had clearly reached a decision on his solitary walk. Whatever it was, it meant the time for sitting around was over.

It was time to go into battle.

*********

**Author's Note:**

> I am deeply indebted to everyone who has shared their 616 knowledge with me, as I am obviously still learning, but I owe a special thank-you [Chrism](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Chrism/pseuds/Chrism) for her help with this story.
> 
> Also, while I realize the art for Avengers Prime doesn't show Tony with the repulsor disc, based on the timeline, I've decided that he must surely have it by now.


End file.
